Cutting edge Seminar

 

Speaker: Akira Kurisaki (Professor, Stem Cell Technologies Lab, Division of Biological Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology)

Title:  Mechanisms of gastric tissue differentiation and the control of homeostasis

 

Date&Time:  5 November (wed)　12：00-13：00

Venue:  Conference Room(1F), IMEG, Kumamoto University

※This seminar can also be attended through ZOOM. Please check the URL on “S-HIGO Cutting-Edge Seminar A, B” at Moodle.

https://md.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/course/view.php?id=120331

 

Abstract: 

The adult stomach performs digestive functions through various
specialized cell types, including parietal cells that secrete gastric
acid, chief cells that produce digestive enzymes, and pit cells that
secrete large amounts of mucus to protect the luminal surface of the
stomach lining. We established a differentiation culture system that
enables the generation of gastric mini-tissues from pluripotent stem
cells, providing an in vitro model to investigate the mechanisms
underlying gastric differentiation.

Furthermore, focusing on stem cells in the adult stomach, we explored
candidate signaling pathways regulating the differentiation of adult
gastric epithelial stem cells by performing pseudotime-dependent gene
enrichment analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data from adult
gastric tissue. Using these candidate factors, we conducted
differentiation assays on gastric epithelial stem cells isolated and
expanded from adult gastric tissue. Our results revealed that EGFR–ERK
signaling promotes differentiation into pit cells, whereas NF-κB
signaling maintains gastric progenitor cells in an undifferentiated state.

In this seminar, I will introduce these mechanisms controlling gastric
differentiation and discuss the fundamental principles underlying
gastric epithelial homeostasis.

 
References:

1. Takada H, Sasagawa Y, Yoshimura M, Tanaka K, Iwayama Y, Hayashi T,
Isomura-Matoba A, Nikaido I, Kurisaki A.Single-cell transcriptomics
uncovers EGFR signaling-mediated gastric progenitor cell differentiation
in stomach homeostasis. Nat Commun. 2023 14(1):3750.

2. Noguchi TK, Ninomiya N, Sekine M, Komazaki S, Wang PC, Asashima M,
Kurisaki A.
Generation of stomach tissue from mouse embryonic stem cells. Nat Cell
Biol. 2015 17(8):984-993.